Always Beginning

“The secret of life … is to fall seven times and to get up eight times.”

Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

In life, we are either beginning, or doing nothing at all. The problem is, ‘Nothing’ doesn’t always feel or look like nothing.

‘Nothing’ wears a lot of disguises. Sometimes It’s dressed up in complacency or average routines. Sometimes It wears fear, doubt and uncertainty on Its sleeve. ‘Nothing’ even disguises Itself as things we want, like money, power, fame at the detriment of things we really want and dream.

For example, making ends meet is necessary — sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do in order to fulfilling and follow through with the responsibilities we have. But if you are spending your time at a job that you hate, and you have the drive and opportunity to do what you love and you don’t, then nothing’s got you exactly where It wants you to be.

Beginning is meeting each day with a fresh start. Beginning is grabbing that blank sheet of paper, empty canvas, empty SD card and creating like it’s the first time. It’s sitting down at a piano, or a workbench or table and being open to ideas and possibilities. Beginning is also facing poor circumstances, setbacks, food poisoning and bad moods, and still somehow making time in the day for what matters to you.

Time fades yesterday’s creativity. We might create something perennial and remembered. But we still have to wake up and try to do it again and different.

Even if you’ve got all the money in the world, or you are considered the best in the world, you still have to sit down to a blank page of your craft.